Car seat for bigger kiddo

K&H

I know we've gone over this before, but my brain can't seem to remember or find the info. We were in a pretty serious car accident yesterday and need a new car seat for E. She's 5, weighs 49lbs and 45in tall. I want a car seat that will keep her in a harness forever. The impact of the accident was right outside her window and was completely terrifying. Because she was in her car seat, harness tight and right, she had minor bruises and nothing else. She has friends who are in booster only and I just can't do that.
Which car seat will keep her safest for the longest?

EMG_REL

Oh no! I'm so sorry that happened! I don't have any advice about car seats. I'm just glad you guys are okay.

momsquared

Britax Frontier should keep her harnessed the longest. H is in one now harnessed at 6 yo about 48" tall and 45 lbs and has room to grow still. Then eventually you can booster with it. We start booster with our kids around age 8.
So glad everyone is ok!!

horton

I'm sorry about your accident! So scary!

I second the Britax Frontier. Willow is 7.5 years old, weighs around 53 lbs, and is about 52" tall and she has plenty of room to grow. She won't outgrow it before she turns 8. In all likelihood she'll still be able to fit in it when I have to hand it down to her brother (wherever he outgrows his Marathon--it'll be awhile though, he's still comfortably rear-facing in it at 3 years 2 months, and hopefully will staff that way into he turns 4).

I've read bad reviews on using it as a booster, but high back boosters aren't very expensive anyway, so I still think it's worth it to buy it just for its extended harness capabilities, and then buy a graco turbobooster or something in a few years when the time comes for that.

jones.mom02

Oh my gosh K&H! I'm so glad everyone is okay. Minor bruises phew! I can only imagine how scary that is. I love Britax. I don't have experience with children in it yet though. I just know from heavy research that I want Britax until my children reach 8 due to their safety and long lasting durability. I just bought an infant britax car seat for my soon to be. And I love it. Have installed and played around with it lol. Their sears for older kids look perfect for safety!

Shanny

I'm so glad to hear she's ok - are her mamas ok too? Besides the obvious of being scared out of your minds. I shudder at the thought of all the kids her age/size in a booster and what would happen if they were in an accident!

Another vote for Britax. A is in one (she turns 8 this weekend and plenty of room) and my niece who turns 9 next month is still in one. The click tight is also a parents dream for installation.

Kate will probably never need one because she'll fit in the radian for 3 more years easily which gets us to 10!

MummyBird

Glad to hear that she is OK.

I agree how scary it is to see your kid's friends in seats they are not ready for. My daughter is a GIANT compared to her friends. She is almost 8 years old, 4 foot eight inches, and 105 pounds. I have a Britax Parkway SGL for her. It was the highest weight max that I could find that she could sit comfortably in (Beyone butt!). She maxed out her Radian when she turned 6, and outgrew the back of the Britax this past year, so is now booster only. I can't see how people with average sized kids think that no seat at this age is safe! She has tested to see if no booster would work, and the strap cuts into her neck. Yet I see kids a head shorter than her with no carseat.

K&H

Thanks for asking, Shanny.. We are ok as well. I think I got the brunt of it with a cut on my ear, a banged up knee and probably some alignment issues in my spine and neck. We spent many hours in the ER getting checked out, CT scan, xrays, etc. and both E and I walked out with just some mega ibuprofen and muscle relaxers for me. Thank God it was no more than that. H walked away with not even a scratch or bruise. H has always made a point of having the best insurance and the safest car for our family vehicle, and everyone said that we fared so well because of the excellent car seat (Britax) and safe car (Subaru). Our insurance will cover everything, including a rental car to get us back home (we're out of state visiting family for the holiday). We should find out today if our car is totalled or able to be repaired. My guess is that they will total it. It seems like the back tire took most of the impact, which may have messed things up all the way through. At the least it will need a new back seat and everything new all along the back passenger side, plus all new side impact air bags. It's quite overwhelming, but if we just take it step by step we'll get it all figured out.
Now to just figure out where we can buy a Britax locally so that we have it for driving home tomorrow!

hopeful2014

Very scary! Glad you're all okay!

stwrr

I just wanted to chime in and say first, glad you guys are okay!! How scary!

And second... thank you. I was suddenly filled with the vivid image of our four year old being in a car accident... and it suddenly hit home that the booster seat I have her in really isn't safe. One of those things you know, but don't really FEEL until.. well, a shared experience like yours.

Tomorrow, we are reinstalling the harness carseat, and I'm going to pick up a Britax Frontier too, if I can find one.

~ Sandy

momsquared

If anyone has Amazon Prime and has a couple days to wait for the seat, Amazon has the Frontier as low as $215 if you are not picky on color and with prime you will have it in 2 days.

old mama

I am glad to hear others are using car seats with their older kids. My son is 10 but is small for his age. His car seat isn't an expensive one but it has high back with neck support and uses the halter and seat belt. I get guff from other parents all the time for having him in it. He likes it because we have a huge van and he can see out better. In fact we took the seat out the other day and after one trip HE decided he wanted it back in.

Shanny

Old Mama - what do you mean by "halter and seatbelt"?

I've know several kids in the "older" category that preferred the feeling of a booster or harness even when given the option

old mama

Sorry...I didn't mean halter. The shoulder and lap belt are connected to the car seat...if that makes sense...perhaps I am using the wrong terminology. I am using it as instructed. I thought I was being a little over protective. But, like I said he likes it so it isn't a battle.

TheOtherLovingMoms

Old mama I still have my 10 yo granddaughter in a car seat also. We have a new grand baby too so we now have 4 car seats in our van lol

old mama

I have had up to 3 but I was much younger and more able to twist and turn to get everyone in. I am planning on getting my foster case license and only do young ones so I was staring at my 15 passenger van planning where I can put everyone. Room isn't the problem here so much as trying to get up in the van with little ones in my arms safely. I can foster 2-3 kids and hopefully they won't all be too little to at least crawl into the van by themselves!

TheOtherLovingMoms

We need a 15 passenger van. With us having 7 grandkids, 4 of them living with us. Our 7 passenger van just doesn't cut it anymore lol.